A Future Lost
"You're kidding me right?"
David Xanatos shook his head. "I wish I was detective Maza, but can be no mistake." He held out the paper, the headline reading 'ANCIENT ARTIFACT FOUND'.
The black haired detective groaned. "We had enough problems the first time around with the Phoenix Gate. That's why Goliath threw it into it's own warp hole."
"Apparently it popped out. Right into an archeologist's lap," Xanatos motioned to the paper. "It gets worse."
"How could anything make this worse?" Elisa said snatching the paper.
"Last paragraph," Xanatos said helpfully.
Elisa's eyes widened. "No way."
Xanatos took the paper and read out loud, "The artifact, now identified as the Phoenix Gate, was purchased by Dominique Destine yesterday for the sum of three million dollars."
The two stood in Xanatos' office, neither saying a word.
"I'm going to have to talk to Goliath as soon as he wakes up."
Xanatos nodded. "See that you do. With the Gate Demona could do all sorts of trouble."
Demona caressed the light blue surface of the Phoenix Gate gently. Long ago she had vowed that she would never become the person she was, and split the gate to prove it. That hadn't gone as planned.
"This time, things will be different," she said.
"Is that so Demona?"
Demona turned and scowled. "Goliath?! You found my chateau?"
"I asked Angela for directions," the clan leader said evenly. "Considering the circumstances, she told me."
Demona held the gate securely. "Goliath, you are a fool. You should have come with your entire clan to stop me."
"You know that the gate only creates endless loops Demona," Goliath implored her. "It will do you no good."
"But I have found the key event, something that WILL change our history. And you will NOT be able to prevent it! Deflagrate, muri tempi et intervalia!"
Goliath roared as the flames of the Phoenix gate wrapped around the two of them, and almost instantly he realized why Demona was so confident that he would not stop her. His skin turned to stone as the bright light of the sun shining in the Scottish woods hit him.
"You'll thank me later Goliath," Demona said, now in her human form. She headed towards the road, where she knew there would be a caravan traveling to the castle Wyvern. It was 994 ad.
Three days before Demona and the captain of the guard would betray the castle and the clan.
Goliath awoke that night in a rage. He had been tricked! He looked around and for a few moments, not knowing where he was. Luckily for him, old memories die hard. Within moments he was gliding towards Wyvern.
"What on earth could she possibly hope to achieve by-?"
He was cut off as Demona came out of nowhere, flying towards him. He dodged, and shouted "What are you doing?!"
Demona's eyes glinted with red light. She dove towards the ground and disappeared into the foliage.
Goliath followed her, wondering what was going on. He landed with a thump and looked around. "Demona?" He called out.
Suddenly he heard her whispering voice behind him. "Deflagrate, muri tempi et intervalia!"
Goliath hardly had time to turn around before he was engulfed in the fires of the Phoenix gate. When he finished his turn he found himself staring at Demona in the middle of Times Square.
"What did you do?!" Goliath demanded.
"Oh, you'll see," Demona said, stroking his chin.
Goliath grabbed her hand. "Tell me-"
"Aye! You there!" Shouted a strongly Scottish voice. "What d'ye think yer doin'? Where did ye come from?"
Demona smiled widely. Goliath turned around.
An emerald green gargoyle wearing a kilt and a sash with a police badge on it. It read '23rd, Captain McAffery, Night Watch'. He had white blond hair, pulled back into a ponytail, and a goatee that covered his chin. The gargoyle had double spiked eyebrows, similar to Goliath's, and spikes that stuck out from his cheekbones. His wings were wrapped around his shoulders and he wore a belt with a gun on it. He looked to be about 50 in gargoyle years, putting him well in the 100 year range for humans.
"Well I never," he said, approaching them slowly. He stared at them and suddenly said, "Ye know, ye look exactly loik Goliath an' 'is mate."
"What-?" Goliath said started.
"Ye know. 'Ee great Clan Leader Goliath an' 'is mate, Lady Demona. 'Ee ones who made the gargoyle species a real force again out of 'ee middle ages."
Goliath rounded on Demona. "What. Did. You. Do?!"
"I forewarned myself of the Captain's betrayal. I set it up with my younger self so that when the Captain made his 'deal' with me to leave the castle, the Magus and the Princess were there, warned by my former self, and heard it all, including my strong refusal."
"Aye," said the green gargoyle. "That's 'ow it happened. An' 'ee princess and 'ee King were so grateful that the gargoyles had revealed this treachery that they declared the gargoyles heroes. 'Ee humans in Scotland came to accept us as guardians of 'ee human race. Our kind flourished, and immigrated with 'ee humans. Now, that's all baseline history." He fingered his gun. "Tell me, are ye just loonies who think they're Demona and Goliath? And ye big feller- ye dinnae seem t'know any o' this. Why is that?"
Goliath stared at the green gargoyle. "Flourished? Immigrated with the humans?" He stammered.
The green gargoyle rolled his eyes. "OY!" He shouted. "Bluestone! We've got a couple o' live one's 'ere."
Officer Bluestone came rushing up. "Captain," he nodded at the green gargoyle. "What's the matter?"
"This big feller- there's somethin' funny about 'im," the Captain said. "Is there any warrants out on gargoyles lookin' loik Goliath?"
"No sir, not that I know of."
"Matt?!" Goliath said in shock. Matt looked at him in utter bewilderment.
"How do you know my name?"
"You're a friend of mine!" Goliath said.
The captain looked from Goliath to Matt. He raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm going t' 'ave to take ye both in for questioning."
"Whatever you say officer," Demona chimed, clearly enjoying this whole fiasco.
Goliath turned to face her. "You'd better reverse this right now. . ."
Demona snapped at him, "You talk to me like that and I'll shatter the gate here and now. The only reason I haven't is I want to make sure this world is good enough for us."
The Captain and Matt exchanged looks. "Riiiiiiiight. . ." Matt said, cuffing both Goliath and Demona.
"This is going to be a long night laddie," said the Captain. "I can feel it."
Down at the Police station Goliath was desperately trying to explain what had happened to a very skeptical Captain Chavez.
"Demona went through time and changed what happened!" Goliath said. "I'm Goliath. I was supposed to sleep for a thousand years under a spell and wake up in 1994. The clan was destroyed in 994 ad.!"
Chavez sighed. "A total wacko, McAffery. Where do you find them?"
The other Captain, McAffery, shrugged. "These 'uns kinda found me."
Chavez threw her arms into the air. "He's your prisoner McAffery. You talk to him."
The Scottish gargoyle sat down and looked at Goliath. Goliath sighed.
"Well same to you!" Came the angry yells of officer Morgan. "McAffery- this blue female is a nightmare!" He complained, slamming the door behind him. "She's a stuck up little b. . ."
Chavez said his name very loudly, drowning out what Morgan was about to say.
McAffery sighed. "Ach, bring the lass out here too."
Demona was led out of the other room with a chair. She sat with her legs crossed and her eyes glittering. Goliath shot her a frustrated look.
"Now, down t' business, aye?" He looked over the two of them. "Now, why don't you tell me about all this- 'time hopping'. 'Goliath' here says it's your fault."
"I have no idea what he's talking about," Demona said flatly. "I'll be more polite to you than to that human but I'm telling you, this gargoyle is insane."
Goliath's eyes glowed. "Why you-"
"Calm down, both o' ye." McAffery looked around and signaled everyone else to leave. "I'd like t' talk t' these two mahself."
Morgan and Bluestone looked like they were going to protest, but Chavez pushed them out the door.
"Now, I'm nae a fool, and despite my age I'm nae blind either," McAffery leaned back against a wall. "You appeared in the middle o' Times Square, in the midst of a bunch o' blue flames." He stood, and walked behind the chairs the other gargoyles were sitting in. "Right now I'm more inclined t' believe 'ee laddie's story, because at this point it makes the most sense. So lass, unless you come up with something that makes more sense-"
Demona scowled. "What he says is true," she grumbled. "I've fixed time! If it weren't for me, you would have never been born!"
McAffery didn't seem too startled by this. Gargoyles did lead interesting lives, after all. "So, that's why you knew what was going on, while the lad here had no idea?"
"Yes," Demona said, eyes glowing. "I saved our entire clan from being destroyed! Without my intervention the humans would have hunted most gargoyles to extinction and there would only be a handful of us left on ANY continent!"
"I see." He stroked his chin. McAffery turned to Goliath. "An' I suppose you want her to go and change things back the way they were?"
"Yes!" He said with a passion.
"Well, therein lies our fundamental problem." The Green gargoyle took a sip of water from a cup on the table. "I cannae stop 'ee lass from changing time back herself, as she must be a sorceress to do somethin' like that and magic is more powerful than physical force. Not to mention I would nae think about doing such a thing. I like the way things are, even if they're nae perfect."
Goliath's face turned to one of despair. "But my clan!"
"If ye are actually Goliath," McAffery said, "most of the gargoyles in this city are descendants of your clan. Ye should nae be worried. You'll be accepted quickly enough." He unlocked their handcuffs and opened the door. "Come with me."
Goliath thought about trying to wrestle the Phoenix gate from Demona, but he was in a police station. He would be tackled by fifty officers before he had gotten to it. Plus Demona might try to destroy the Gate if she thought Goliath would change things back. He would have to bide his time and take the Gate back later.
"Now if you're going t' stay 'ere, yer going t' have to choose a permanent roost within city limits. We have several nice spots available," McAffery pulled up some images in the computer. "If ye know yer not going to make it back to yer roost by sunrise you have tae call one of the police stations. . ."
"Why all this?" Demona asked.
"Well lass, the Steel Clan 'ave their routs an' if there's a gargoyle missin' they go into code red. . ."
"The Steel Clan?!" Goliath exclaimed. "But- they were made to destroy us-!"
"Nae, laddie," McAffery said. "Xanatos designed the Steel Clan to be the guardians of the gargoyles durin' the daytime. Ye must be thinkin' of the S. C. Enforcers."
Goliath's puzzled look made McAffery elaborate. "They were a handful of Steel Clan robots reprogrammed by John Castaway. We destroyed them about two years ago. Took us forever t' find them. They only attacked durin' the day, so 'ee Night Watch was unable to track 'em down. . ."
"The Night Watch?"
"The gargoyle division of the police. Durin' 'ee nighttime there are more gargoyles than humans on duty as officers. O' course we only get half o' the benefits, but that might change soon, what with the equal rights movement."
Demona looked scandalized. "You don't have equal rights as the humans? After all these years of protecting humans?!"
"Well ye must admit lass, we are only awake half o' 'ee time," McAffery. "But all the gargoyles think differently, an' mos' o' the humans do too."
"Like Maza did," chimed in Chavez.
"Aye," McAffery said, an alien emotion creeping over his face.
"So that little human twit is dead? Good riddance!" Demona snarled.
The effect it had on the entire station was astonishing. Everyone who had heard stopped moving, and suddenly Chavez and Bluestone were lunging at McAffery. He had pulled out his gun with lightning speed and was aiming at Demona. His eyes were glowing as he shouted "STAY BACK!" To Bluestone and Chavez. When he spoke again it was in a dangerous whisper.
"Now, ye listen tae me lass because I will nae say this ag'in. Maza was 'ee best human I've ever known an' every gargoyle in this city owes a great debt to her. Ye keep yer foul mouth shut about her. I dinnae care about what you think about humans, but insultin' officers I will nae stand for, an' insulting a hero like Maza in front of most gargoyles will leave ye dead. Lucky for you, I am nae most gargoyles." He lowered his gun and put it away. "However, if you dare say another bad word about her again I will nae be responsible for my actions."
Goliath looked horror stricken. "Elisa is dead?"
"Nae dead. Been in a coma for six months, showing nae signs of recovery, but nae dead."
"What- what happened to her-?" Goliath asked gently.
McAffery looked pained. "We have a building called 'ee Rookery. All of the eggs for 'ee clans that live in 'ee city are left there. Normally it's guarded by Steel Clan Robots, but they had to get new upgrades so they were down for 'ee day. It was all very hush-hush, but Maza was suspicious. She went herself to watch o'er the eggs. . . An' sure enough a buncha anti-gargoyle hooligans had found out about 'ee robots being down and went after the eggs and 'ee hatchlings that were stone for 'ee day. Maza held them off for a while alone, called for backup, but before it could arrive she was shot an' whacked in 'ee head by a few flyin' objects. She kept 'ee raiders at bay until we could arrive, then she went intae shock, and a coma shortly afterwards. She saved three clans worth of eggs, and a whole group of hatchlings."
Demona's jaw dropped. Goliath smiled sadly. "That's my Elisa," he whispered. "Is it possible to see her?" He added, "before we choose a roost. I'd like to find one near her, preferably."
"Oh- aye, all right. I have nae seen the girl in two weeks. I owe her a visit," he smiled faintly. "One o' those hatchlings was my granddaughter. The S. C. Enforcers shattered her mother and father."
"I am so sorry for your loss," Goliath said resting a hand on his shoulder. "I have known that kind of pain myself."
McAffery paused. "Aye, if you are Goliath from a time when the clan was destroyed, I suppose you do."
They arrived at the hospital and were admitted almost immediately. Elisa was laid out in her black tee shirt and her jeans. There was a mask providing her with oxygen, an IV drip, and a few machines monitoring her brain waves. Her arms had been gently placed above the covers and there was a huge amount of new and old flowers from friends, family and admirers.
Goliath looked at her face and swallowed hard. "Elisa," he said slowly stroking her cheek. "Wait-" he looked at her. "What's wrong with her? Her arm and eye are scarred, and why does she have a glove on her right hand?"
"'Ee scars are from a rogue gargoyle. Elisa took 'im down, but not after losin' the sight in 'er left eye and gettin' those slashes on her arm.," He looked at her and sighed. "'Er hand was crushed beyond fixin' by a S. C. Enforcer robot. Elisa led the group that took 'em down."
"She would." To McAffery's surprise, Goliath bent over and kissed Elisa on the forehead. "Elisa, you are just as wonderful here and now as you are at home."
"Should I ask?"
"We were very close," he says quietly.
"I understand." McAffery led Goliath out of the hospital. Suddenly his pager went off. He looked at it and swore. "Yer friend 'as decided t' take a trip around town."
Goliath was startled. "What?" If he lost Demona, he lost the chance of setting things right.
"We don' 'ave time to get to her before sunrise. Las' time they saw her she was headin' towards the Xanatos' building. I'm calling the office and letting them know we'll roost on the hospital building. Bluestone will stop by t' check on us around midday."
Goliath nodded and followed him out. McAffery shut the door as the machine that measured Elisa's brain waves began to register a slow, steady blip, and Elisa's finger twitched.
McAffery looked up at the top of the building and scowled. "Well, it's not the roof of the Ritz, but it'll do."
When they had climbed onto the roof Goliath remembered something.
"McAffery, Demona doesn't turn to stone at daybreak. She can travel during the day. She might be long gone from Xanatos'."
The look of confusion was frozen on McAffery's face.
Demona buzzed herself into the Xanatos building. Owen initially refused her entry, but sensed the Phoenix Gate on her and when he heard her story he raised an eyebrow and let her in. Xanatos was also interested in her tale.
"But why have you sought me out?" He asked.
Demona looked deadly serious in her human form as she said, "Because where I come from you would turn on us as soon as you had our trust. I want to know what your plans are with the Steel Clan robots. What are you trying to pull?"
Xanatos got up and slammed his fists on the table. "I don't care where or when you're from. To suggest that I would betray the beings under my care is preposterous! My best friends are in the Night Watch, and my son is friends with the gargoyles of Avalon, guardians of Arthur Pendragons' tomb."
"How old is your son?" Demona asked curiously.
"Eighteen now, and a powerful mage if I might say so myself," Xanatos added confidently. "Almost a sorcerer."
There was something in the way he talked that convinced Demona that he was telling the truth. Xanatos seemed older here. His son- eighteen! That was a change.
"I'm sorry to have troubled you," Demona said. Owen led her out.
She walked outside. So far this world was pretty good for the gargoyles. Rights would have to be made equal, of course, but other than that there was only one thing she wanted to find out about- or rather one gargoyle. Her daughter, Angela.
Matt Bluestone patted McAffery's stone head and wondered why the older gargoyle looked like he had been floored right before going to sleep. Then he trailed back down into the hospital where there was quite a ruckus going on. Matt shrugged and tried to go see Elisa, but apparently the ruckus was at her room.
"Get out of my way!" demanded a voice Matt recognized. "Where's McAffery? I know I heard that old garg!"
"Maza?!" Matt exclaimed, pushing through the crowd of nurses.
"Bluestone? Thank god! What the hell is going on?"
"You've been in a coma for six months!" Matt exclaimed.
"That's what these folks keep telling me," Elisa said. "I was referring to what happened last night. I heard McAffery, and someone else."
Matt shooed the nurses away before saying "There's a gargoyle who says he's from an alternate future along with another female gargoyle. He asked to see you last night so McAffery bought him here."
Elisa raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's a new one."
"Tell me about it. McAffery thinks he's telling the truth. About the whole alternate future thing."
"Oh, I believe that. I'm just trying to figure out why he would want to visit me."
"You're a real piece of work Maza," Bluestone shook his head.
"I missed you too Matt." The two hugged like old friends and then Elisa clapped her hands together. "Well! Where is this mystery gargoyle?"
Matt gestured. "On the roof. I'll take you to meet him tonight."
"Good. You know what you can do first, partner?"
"What?"
"Find my badge and gun- and my jacket! Don't forget that! Then back to the 23rd. I have some catching up to do."
Matt laughed. "Welcome back Maza."
"My sainted mother in heaven!" exclaimed McAffery as he and Goliath awoke. "Maza?"
"In the flesh," Elisa said grinning broadly. The tow hugged roughly and Elisa punched McAffery lightly in the shoulder. "Tell me, last night, when you visited- did you call me by my fist name?"
"No," interrupted Goliath, "that was me. My name is Goliath."
Elisa held out her hand. "Then it's you I have to thank. For some reason, your voice woke me up."
"I'm glad," he smiled.
Elisa felt a tingle run through her body. It was almost as if she had met this gargoyle before. She was about to say more when a cell phone cut her off. Matt picked it up.
"Bluestone here."
"If that's Chavez trying to give me an assignment. . ." Elisa began.
Matt waved to shut her up. "I see. Yeah, we'll be right down." He snapped the phone shut. "I've got good news and bad news. Good news is Demona came back to the station, she's looking for information on a certain gargoyle."
Suddenly violent looking, swirling thunderclouds appeared overhead. They flashed lightning and began changing colors from purple to black to red, over and over again.
"What in the name of Oberon is going on?" McAffery said, looking up.
"I'm afraid that's part of the bad news. Mage Alexander Fox-Xanatos is waiting for us at the station as well. It seems we have a problem."
They arrived at the station in a few minutes. Mage Alexander was waiting for them outside, and so was Demona. Alex spoke first.
"My friends, we are in grave danger. That storm you see in the sky is not a normal storm. It is magical."
"An' should be assumin' it is not a 'good' magical storm?" McAffery said.
Alex nodded. "My grandmother Titania, has told me it is caused by a powerful magical item. This item caused our time to exist, but in our time it was destroyed. Therefore, it is caught in a loop, eliminating itself. It cannot handle this." He waved at the clouds. "This is the result. A storm that will destroy all time and space."
Goliath looked at Demona. "You must reverse this!"
"No! I can easily find when the gate was destroyed and prevent it from happening-!" Demona began.
"How can you, when you don't know when that was?" Goliath demanded.
Demona paused. She pulled the Phoenix Gate out from a satchel secured on her belt.
"THAT?" McAffery stared at it. "That's what's causin' this mess? I know when that was destroyed."
"Tell me!" Demona demanded.
"Just after- after Lady Demona was killed."
"What?!" Demona nearly shouted.
"I keep forgettin' you two are out of your normal time. . ." McAffery sighed.
Elisa elaborated for them. "Two days before they were going to execute that Captain of the Guard for high treason, one of his supporters broke him out of prison. They waited until it was nearly sunrise and stole into the Rookery of castle Wyvern. Demona saw them and followed. As son as she realized their intent she confronted them, but before she could summon help the sun turned her to stone. They broke her into pieces, destroyed all the eggs and attempted to flee. They were both captured and executed the next night. Goliath was so distraught over losing Demona and their eggs that in one blow that he crushed his half of 'the Phoenix Gate' as you call it. The other half, which Demona always carried, must have been destroyed with her stone self."
Demona looked shocked and horrified. "Destroyed all of the eggs? All of them?"
"Not one survived," Elisa said. "Goliath never took another mate, and eventually other members of the clans had eggs, but that first clutch was destroyed."
"Angela," Demona whispered. She closed her eyes. "I can stop this! I'll go back again and-"
Goliath grabbed her wrist. "You can't change what happened! Don't you see? You thought you had made everything work, but it went wrong!" He pointed to the sky. "The Phoenix gate always starts an endless loop. When it doesn't THIS sort of thing must happen!"
Demona looked furious. "It's not fair! They should have lived!"
Goliath shook his head. "We cannot fathom what the effects of changing time will be. We must go back, and prevent you from purchasing the Gate."
"Fine," she grumbled. "I will go. . ."
Elisa snatched the gate from her.
"Give that BACK you filthy-" Demona began but McAffery leveled his gun at her.
"Remember what I said before lass."
"If one of you two go back it might cause more complications," Elisa said, and Alexander nodded in agreement. "You're the one who started this mess anyway." Elisa looked Demona over. "Frankly, I have a gut feeling that you would just screw things up more."
"You dare-!" Demona began.
Goliath held her back by the shoulders. "Let her do what she must."
Alexander touched the Phoenix Gate. It glowed blue for a minute, and so did Alexander's eyes. Then he touched Elisa's forehead. Her eyes glowed like his and then both their eyes returned to normal.
"The Gate showed me where and when you needed to go, and I have showed you. You know the spell to work the Gate as well. Good luck Elisa," Alexander shook her hand.
"Thank you Alexander." Elisa hugged everyone in the office and stopped when she reached Goliath. He looked at her in a worried manner.
"I could go," he said.
"I think I'd trust you to set it right big guy, but you're part of the problem. Since your timeline is the main one, you might accidentally start one of those loops you've talked about. If I'm going to cease existing with this timeline, then it's better that I do this and cause as little trouble as possible."
Goliath bent over and kissed her on a whim. Elisa looked surprised, but she blushed as he broke away.
"Good luck," he whispered.
Elisa stepped away from the group and said the incantation to open the Gate. The light whipped up around her and she was gone in an instant.
"How do we know if she succeeded?" asked McAffery.
The young mage pointed to Goliath and Demona. "They vanish before we all do."
They said a few quick good-byes. Then they waited.
"You're kidding me, right?" Elisa said, waving a tabloid in front of Xanatos' face. "You think this is me?"
"Owen says it has something to do with the Phoenix Gate."
The sun had just set outside and Elisa heard the roars of the wakening clan. She tossed the tabloid back at Xanatos and sighed. "Whatever. This is my night off. I'm going to try and lay off the crazy stuff."
The paper dropped in front of Xanatos again. He picked it up and looked at the title that said 'APPARITION STEALS ARTIFACT' and at the blurry picture. The apparition had black hair and was wearing a red jacket. Xanatos smiled wryly and tossed the tabloid on a pile of articles about the gargoyles that he was going to put into a scrapbook.
"And to think, I thought life before 1994 was interesting," he laughed.
On Avalon an egg hatched. The gargoyle was an emerald green, with two spiky cheek bones, and two spikes over each eye. He snapped at the air a few times before his parents picked him up.
"I want to give him a strong Scottish name. Mac, maybe."
His mother said, "I was hoping for a softer sounding name, like Avery."
The father paused. "Mac-Avery?" He played the name over his tongue. "How about McAffery?"
The mother said it. "McAffery. I like it."
The little gargoyle smiled.
Brooklyn was patrolling central park when he saw a strange flash of light. He decided to glide over, since it wasn't too far off.
Elisa Maza, wielding a Phoenix gate in her gloved right hand, staggered violently. Her scars burned and her right eye was actually showing fuzzy images. In the few seconds Alexander had connected with her mind, he had warned her that this would happen. Her body was trying to fuse with the body it was in this proper timeline. The Phoenix Gate she had used to get to the archaeologist who had started this cycle had merged with the Gate she had grabbed from the startled man. She was doing the same thing.
She placed the Gate on a stone and pulled out her gun.
"This is the last time you're screwing around with someone's life, do you hear me?" Elisa shouted, firing three shots.
Before the first bullet hit the Phoenix Gate Elisa, her gun, and the bullets vanished.
Brooklyn landed at just that moment. "Elisa?" He said uncertainly, looking around. "I could have sworn I saw her. . ."
He saw something glitter out of the corner of his eye.
"What's this?" Brooklyn said, picking up the Phoenix Gate.
With a flash of blue light and a gargoyle's yell, Central Park was empty.